A Watchmen (HBO) edit that makes Hooded Justice's origin into a 2 hour movie - The Bass Reeves Cut (Released)

Would love to hear feedback! Mild spoilers below for those who have not seen the show.

I’m calling this Watchmen (2019) - The Bass Reeves Cut. The show was (in my opinion, and I know plenty of opinions differ) absolutely brilliant. It stayed reverent to the events of the graphic novel while charting its own path. I was was slightly disappointed by the final episode so this edit is my attempt to take one of the central stories and turn it into a film sized experience.

My cut primarily concentrates on Angela Abar and Will Reeves. There’s no Adrian Veidt, no Dr. Manhattan and just a bit of Laurie Blake. It centers on the mystery of what happened to Judd Crawford and who the mysterious Will Reeves is.

This fan edit is meant for those who loved the show and want to experience a condensed telling of Hooded Justice’s origin or for those who are unwilling to commit 9 hours to the show but are intrigued enough to spend 2. With that said, I highly recommend the show in its entirely. The music especially is incredible!

As this pulls 9 hours of TV down to just over 2 hours, here’s a brief outline of what was used or removed:

Most of episode 1 remains. I cut the scene of Captain Crawford talking to the wife of the hospitalized cop. I cut the beating interrogation and action sequence at the ranch. Adrian Viedt is cut from this and all other episodes.

I kept much of episode 2. I removed the newspaper stand chatter. I removed the winged paparazzi. I removed the White Knight attack. I removed / partially repurposed the hospital scene. I removed the Nixonville attack. I removed most of the family scenes and the Crawford wake (but kept Angela sleuthing). Removed Will being pulled into the sky.

In episode 3 I only used Laurie and Angela meeting at the funeral.

From episode 4 I used Angela at the Ances-Tree as well as Angela asking Looking Glass about the pills and hood.

Episode 5 only uses Angela taking the pills.

Nearly the entirety of episode 6 remains. To me, this is the core of the story I was looking to tell. I cut a few small continuity pieces from the beginning and the very end with Lady Trieu.

Episode 7 only uses Angela driving through Red Scare’s blockade (it’s implied they’re stopping her from leaving a hospital).

Episode 8, despite being a great episode, doesn’t see any use in my edit.

Episode 9 uses the theater scene between Angela and Will.

A few scenes play slightly out of order for pacing and / or continuity in my version of the story. Some new scene transitions played out better than I could have expected.

Total run-time is 2 hours 15 minutes with credits.

nmxuci5970 said:

When I watched the Bass Reeves cut it looks like you added in more climatic action packed hood justice by making sure that things are going according to its plan and you also had the fact when she is leaving the blockade it’s more like she is taking the pills. Overall this looks great.

I’m so glad people are finding this edit! It kind of whimpered when I dropped it.

Yes, definitely had to jump some narrative hoops to make it all one contained two hour story. Tightening everything up and focusing on just the handful of characters gives the Hooded Justice story a lot more action packed feel.

Getting Angela out of the jail / hospital was a really tough one because there’s no good footage of it without introducing Lady Trieu. So I stole some from the White Night flashback that implies she’s coming down from the pills.

Glad to hear you’re digging the edit!

And BrotherOfSasquatch, I PMed you a link - would love to hear what you think as well.

I just found about this as well! I would love to check out your edit, sounds really intersting.

ThanosM. said:

I just found about this as well! I would love to check out your edit, sounds really intersting.

Nice! Just sent you a PM.

Atom-88 said:

I would also love to check this out please. Thank you in advance👍

Happy to oblige! Just sent a PM - would love to hear your thoughts here in the public forum when you finish.

I finally sat and watched your Bass Reeves Cut, and I loved it!

I was not one of those who loved the mini-series, but I surely liked it a lot. Watchmen covered many ambitious themes and ideas and it span through many rich plotlines. With your cut you managed to capture the most intersting plotline of the show and you delivered a storng and condensed story, as promised.
As far as a fanedit goes, it was flawless. There was not a single moment that I felt like I was watching a fanedit.

If I had to give some minor notes, I would suggest a different title card (maybe something more stylized) and perhaps getting rid of the very final shots of Angela which looked like a set-up for a potential sequel. But again, this is just nitpicking.

Great job, you really nailed it!

ThanosM. said:

I finally sat and watched your Bass Reeves Cut, and I loved it!

I was not one of those who loved the mini-series, but I surely liked it a lot. Watchmen covered many ambitious themes and ideas and it span through many rich plotlines. With your cut you managed to capture the most intersting plotline of the show and you delivered a storng and condensed story, as promised.
As far as a fanedit goes, it was flawless. There was not a single moment that I felt like I was watching a fanedit.

If I had to give some minor notes, I would suggest a different title card (maybe something more stylized) and perhaps getting rid of the very final shots of Angela which looked like a set-up for a potential sequel. But again, this is just nitpicking.

Great job, you really nailed it!

Thank you so much!! Having it not feel like a fan edit is strangely the best compliment any fan editor can probably receive 😉

I did love the mini series but felt that it did a real disservice to Will’s story and its themes in the last episode. This was my little attempt to provide an alternative. So glad it resonated!

While I probably won’t remove the final shot, I agree with you that the title card isn’t as good as it could be. Motion graphics have never been my forte. But maybe this will be my excuse to sit down and learn a bit!

Appreciate you taking the time to watch!

djharpo said:

hi this was one of my fave shows of the past few years so would love to see how you manage to condense it down to just a couple of hours. Looking at your notes, the cuts made are really interesting and bold, so please feel free to send me the links if you dont mind.

Just shot you message! Hope you enjoy - would love to hear your thoughts when you finish 😃

veggieguy12 said:

veggieguy12 said:

Is there any cover art or poster image made for this fanedit?

I found the YouTube video with the link for the edit and its poster, cheers!

Fantastic! I try to check on the site every day or so but glad you managed to find it yourself. Hope you enjoyed the edit!